Meet Our In-House Legal Writing Coach Julie Schrager

Julie is a dedicated resource for summer associates and associates who want to sharpen their legal writing skills. She works one-on-one with lawyers and teaches workshops that address common writing challenges. In Chambers Associate, our associates called Julie "an invaluable asset to the firm."

Schiff Hardin Earns Perfect WILEF Score.

Women in Law Empowerment Forum awarded Schiff Hardin its 2015 Gold Standard in Recognition of Integration of Women in the Firm for the 3rd straight year. Schiff Hardin was one of only eight firms in the nation to earn a perfect score.

Overview

Susan works closely with clients to protect their families and create their legacies. Her practice involves developing and implementing plans that are both practical and tax efficient for wealth transfer, business succession and charitable giving.

Susan is lead partner in the San Francisco and Palo Alto offices for the Private Clients, Trusts and Estates practice group. In this capacity, she represents individuals, couples, multi-generational families and professional fiduciaries involved in all aspects of estate planning and estate and trust administration, including related dispute resolution and nonprofits. Clients include private equity, venture capital and hedge fund managers, founding investors in technology companies, senior executives in Fortune 500 companies, family business owners, partners in legal and accounting firms, and beneficiaries of inherited wealth. Many of Susan’s clients have ties to countries other than the United States.

In addition to her work with traditional families, Susan has been at the forefront of planning for families headed by same-sex partners since California first began granting spousal-level rights to gay and lesbian couples. As federally recognized marriage has become a reality for all who live in this country, Susan and her team are well positioned to help their same-sex clients navigate the range of choices now available to them. This includes implementing planning to protect LGBT families from the harm that can result from the unevenness of the current laws around the world.

Susan also advises her clients with respect to premarital planning. Susan has become an authority on the premarital planning issues that arise for gay and lesbian couples and is able to help her clients make informed decisions regarding choice of law and choice of venue for dissolution and division of property in the event of divorce.

Practices

Developed a comprehensive wealth transfer and charitable planning strategy for an heir of the founder of a Fortune 100 company, which included a series of grantor retained annuity trusts that were effective in transferring approximately $80M to the client’s children on a tax-free basis.

Counseled the winners of one of the largest lottery jackpots in U.S. history. The representation involved developing a plan to preserve privacy, designing strategies to accomplish tax-efficient wealth transfer to descendants, and forming a foundation to execute the family’s charitable goals.

Assisted the manager of a hedge fund in a gifting transaction designed to transfer a portion of his carried interest to a trust for the benefit of his children and future grandchildren.

Designed and implemented a sophisticated wealth transfer, charitable giving and governance strategy for the co-founders of a company that owns senior communities where the family goals were disparate and coordination was key.

Drafted and negotiated a premarital agreement for a French citizen planning to marry a Belgian citizen in France. Client was living in San Francisco at the time of the wedding but the couple was planning to relocate to the UK at some point in the future, making the enforceability of the agreement in various jurisdictions critical.

Represented a family trustee who was being sued by a trust beneficiary after the death of their father. The trustee’s responsibilities included the operation of multiple shopping centers located in Northern California.

Pro Bono Activities

Susan is a current member of the Board of Trustees of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco and serves on the development committee and as head of planned giving. She is a former member of the Board of Regents of Point Foundation, a national LGBT scholarship foundation. She has also served on the Board of Delegates for Alta Bates Summit Foundation and as a Heritage Advisor for Clausen House, a charitable organization that provides housing, wellness programs and advocacy for developmentally disabled adults.

Schiff Hardin LLP is a general practice law firm representing clients across the United States and around the world. We have offices located in Ann Arbor, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Lake Forest, New York, Palo Alto, San Francisco and Washington. Our attorneys are strong advocates and trusted advisers — roles that contribute to many lasting client relationships.